Swiss chard and potato rollups

One of the pleasant things about working with Swiss chard is that you don’t need to soften the leaves in brine or in boiling water, as with grape or cabbage leaves. Just cut off the hard white stems (save them for soup) and roll the flexible green part up once its filled. The packages don’t look tidy and cigar-like, but you can say that the look is rustic.

Ingredients

1 large bunch Swiss Chard (about 8 leaves)

3 medium potatoes, cooked, mashed, and seasoned with salt and pepper

2 medium onions, chopped

3 ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped coarsely

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1/4 cup water, stock, or dry white wine

1 sprig of thyme, or 1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1 bay leaf

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Directions

Cover the bottom of a skillet or shallow pan with olive oil. In it, fry the onions until golden. Reserve half of the onions and keep the other half in the skillet, maintaining a medium heat.

Add the chopped tomatoes, thyme or oregano, bay leaf and garlic to the skillet. Stir.

Add the 1/4 cup water and the lemon juice and stir again. Cover the skillet and let the sauce form over medium-low heat.

Add the reserved onions to the mashed potatoes and mix well. Taste for seasoning.

Spread a leaf of Swiss chard on a flat surface, shiny side up. Place a tablespoon (or two, if they fit) onto the broad, stem end and roll it up, tucking the sides in as you go. Do this for each leaf. If you have scraps of leaf, you can put them together, fill them, and roll up as if they were one.

Place the rolled leaves in the simmering sauce. Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 30 minutes. Check once or twice to make sure the dish isn’t drying out – if it looks as if it might, add a little water (or stock, or wine).